AND ANIMAL LIFE. 325 



reasoning and correct deductions. The speculative 

 physiologist and philosopher more frequently re- 

 tard than promote the progress of science. The 

 splendour of great names attached to systems or 

 opinions gives these authority and currency, not 

 only when they are well founded, but even when 

 they are gratuitous assumptions. 



CCCLXXIV. Since we know nothing of the 

 nature of mind, and almost as little of certain 

 properties belonging to the nervous system, we 

 are by no means prepared to develope principles 

 that necessarily suppose a knowledge of ultimate 

 causes. Although certain secrets of our consti- 

 tution appear impenetrable, yet it is within the 

 comprehension of human faculties to observe the 

 succession of phenomena, to mark their order 

 and importance, and, by the light which they 

 afford, to distinguish, in a clear and consistent 

 manner, the relation existing between the mind 

 and the vital organs of the body. 



CCCLXXV. The labour of tracing conse- 

 quences to their source is tedious and irksome 

 to the generality of individuals. The progress 

 of science, thus regulated and measured by gra- 

 dual steps, is necessarily slow, and the object 

 attained appears trivial, unless viewed in con- 

 nection with others of the same or similar cha- 

 racter. It would seem the natural disposition 

 of mankind to systematize, rather than to collect 

 and arrange individual facts by close observation 



